GameSpot has details on plans for DLC for Dragon Age: Origins, which
they say will be released for the PC and Xbox 360 editions on November 3, the
same day the game goes on sale, while the PS3 edition of the DLC will come later
in the month when BioWare's RPG is released for that platform. There will be no
fewer than three pieces of DLC, one being the previously announced free Blood
Armor, the second is The Stone Prisoner, free with new purchases of the game,
and the third is Warden's Keep, for which they have a teaser trailer. Here's
word on that:

BioWare today announced that Dragon Age: Origins will get
its first downloadable expansion on day one. Called the Warden's Keep, the DLC
will add a dungeon-based quest to the game along with six new abilities, a
variety of items, and a base where players can trade with merchants. It will
feature a supernatural storyline set in an ancient--and possibly
haunted--fortress once used as a redoubt by the Grey Wardens, the ancient order
at the center of Origins' main storyline. (A magic suit of Grey Warden armor
will be one of the items in the add-on.)

The Warden's Keep will be available for MSP 560 ($7) on Xbox Live Marketplace
and $7 on the PC on November 3. It will cost the same price on the PlayStation
Store when the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon Age goes on sale later in
November.

Indeed, this video is the first of the videos i have seen that actually make me CARE for this game. Talk about failed marketing when non-marketing video does what the marketing videos are supposed to do.

Also i couldn't help but lol about the inability of the guys playing in that video, his warrior had a level up icon blinking the entire time and he didn't notice.

The GUI and feel of this game mean its a buy for me, although i will probably wait till theres a retail or impulse/steam pack with all the DLC...

Well, I'm also thinking of Mass Effect, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Fable and any other RPG designed for consoles. I'm not worried about Dragon Age's interface. It's being designed for the PC so it's a non-issue. I'm just saying that in general, RPG interfaces fare poorly when designed for consoles.

Ah you are thinking of Oblivion and Fallout 3... Well you have a point there but imo these 2 games while they had very large and weird menus weren't exactly impossible to work with. They weren't the greatest but it was not as if that would have caused to work for 3 minutes to get a item equipped.

But that said, i haven't yet seen the inventory/character/skill menu of Dragon Age anywhere yet....

when RPG's are adapted for console use that does not have to mean dumbing down of gameplay, rather it hopefully makes controls intuitive and quick to use.

The problem is that RPG interfaces are not well-suited to controllers. This is why any RPG designed for a console typically has a terrible interface when played on the PC. Whereas the PC can easily drag and drop icons or click on buttons or tabs, this isn't really possible on a console, which is why we end up with inefficient text-based menus which require a lot of scrolling. PCs also have the benefit of hotkeys, a very important feature in any RPG.

Yeah thats totally true, but Deus Ex 2 was never touted as a RPG - at least i wasn't poked by the hype machine either back then and expected utter failure after seeing the preview trailers.

So while i totally agree that Streamlining shooters is always bad (because even half-life 1 was perfectly streamlined! any more and its dumbing down) when RPG's are adapted for console use that does not have to mean dumbing down of gameplay, rather it hopefully makes controls intuitive and quick to use.

There aren't that many bad RPG's out there (But the last SP Final Fantasy RPG was horrid indeed) the worst they can do nowadays with a RPG is making it cliché. Unless they are Sega or Sony or Eidos.... but its Bioware and they haven't exactly made crap before

As for unlimited inventory, i mean limited by slots *cough* resident evil / diablo / wow - i am perfectly ok with a max weight = Strength * 10 in pounds thing, because that does make at least sense. Though i'd prefer unlimited inventory alá gothic because in the end, all limitation of inventory does is force you to visit the stores more often = padding

The Gothic games and Risen are the only RPGs I know of where you have an unlimited inventory.

Streamlining doesn't mean they dumb the game down, it just means they remove idiotic features that only pad game-time and promote back-tracking, not improve gameplay.

It can mean that but it usually doesn't. Deus Ex 2 was "streamlined" and lost pretty much everything that made the first one great as a result. The new Prince of Persia was "streamlined" and lost everything that made the SoT trilogy great. R6: Vegas was "streamlined" and turned a once tactical and realistic series into a linear, highly-scripted, arcade shooter. The cases where a game has been "streamlined" has, 9 times out of 10, meant that meaningful features were removed in order to make the game more accessible or have broader appeal.

- No limited Inventory- Unlimited stackable items of same type- No doors that are not unlockable via key if lockpicking skill is now high enough- Main Quest NPC's can not die- Quest NPC's do not move about- No backtracking- No random encounters- No Class weapon restrictions

All of which i am very happy to see in all rpg's

Streamlining doesn't mean they dumb the game down, it just means they remove idiotic features that only pad game-time and promote back-tracking, not improve gameplay. Judge when you have played it, not before

I am at a bit of a loss as to why "streamlined" is considered a dirty word. Fallout 2 was more streamlined that Fallout, yet it was entirely a PC game. Streamlining and dumbing down are not the same thing. Any developer looks for ways to streamline their games. I would prefer it if the streamlining removed only the more cumbersome aspects of the design and interface and left the complexity, meaningful choices, and significant consequences, but that doesn't always happen. It remains to be seen if Bioware is successful in doing this with DA, but it looks pretty promising thus far to me.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Gandhi

BG2 was the "lead SKU" also. Try porting that to an XBox 360 and see what happens.

I don't understand your point. Are you planning on getting the Xbox 360 version? If not, you shouldn't be concerned. The game was designed for the PC. It was ported to consoles after the game was already content complete on the PC. No design decisions for the PC version have been affected by the console versions. One look at the interface is evidence enough of that.

Is DA going to be streamlined compared to BG2? Sure. All games are streamlined these days compared to the days of old. However, it isn't going to be streamlined because of consoles.

Hell, maybe a bit of streamlining is good in this case. All the classic CRPGs had notoriously lousy interfaces. BG (and all D&D-based games) also had a ridiculous amount of redundancy in the spell selection. I'm also glad that I won't have to rest after using a spell once.

You do realize that PC is the lead SKU for the game and that the console versions are ports, right? This isn't a typical multiplatform game where the PC version is a port of the console versions.

Your point? BG2 was the "lead SKU" also. Try porting that to an XBox 360 and see what happens. If DA can be ported to consoles, it must be streamlined compared to BG2, the last BioWare game made that wasn't neutered in some way or another.

And the pirates will get a release with all the DLC included anyway because pirates will simply buy 1 digital blah version, crack that and thats it. They are not stupid.

I am really pissed off the CE doesn't get this DLC, i canceled my collectors edition pre-order because of that too. Why buy a CE when the digital "worthless" version (because of no box/CE content) has the actual content and the CE are rip offs.

Someone at Bioware really thought this one trough - If the plan was to piss of CE buyers, that is.

Actually, this might well be the lamest money ripping scam ever. Digital Blah version costs much more than the CE too, for less content.. but if someone wants to buy the DLC in a pack (with the CE exclusive stufF) thats the only way to do it. How super uber lame

Well there you go Verno, two devs saying exactly the same thing I suggested.

Doesn't address my previous reply and of course they're going to say that. What did you expect them to say? Well you see guys we wanted to give you all of this extra content on release day but we want you to pay for it. Now before you say "This is Bioware, wheres the trust?" I'll just mention that normally I'd say that myself. If this was a month after release, I'd be defending Bioware. This is the same day as retail launch. Whatever their reasoning, they are providing less value to the consumer on launch day for their products. I know the various responses, I wrote a few of them for you previously - combating piracy, fighting used game sales, etc. The reasons don't matter to the person bringing home the box and before even playing the game at all seeing a notice in-game about paid DLC.

Console release: how could you play BG2 on a console? You couldn't. The interface, party size, and amount of tactical options were too big. So right off the bat I know this game is going to be "streamlined."

You do realize that PC is the lead SKU for the game and that the console versions are ports, right? This isn't a typical multiplatform game where the PC version is a port of the console versions.